Bethpage-Tribune_1971-07-01

              to****** Public
MEMBER
Island Trees Serving Bethpage - Plainview — Island Trees — Plainedge - Seaford
VOL. 5 NO. 34
BT R8
BETHPAGE LIB
4t POWtlL *y
BETHPAGE NY I 1714
Old Bethpage
Thursday, July 1,1971 10c par copy
Mis. Petito to Head Tobay
Drug Abuse Control Agency
Bav visorv hnth nf WAW ...»H
'is
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor
John W. Burke handed a big task
to a diminutive Adeline Petito
Tuesday when he announced the
creation of the first Town Drug
Abuse Control Agency in Nassau
County, naming the widow of
former Oyster Bay Supervisor '
Michael N. Petitio as its head.
"It's a big job, maybe the
biggest in this Town", Burke said
at a press conference Monday
afternoon in Plainview. "We've
been searching high low for the
right person to head this new
agency and are delighted that
Mrs: Petito has agreed to accept
the challenge."
Burke said Mrs. Petito will
serve as Drug Abuse Co­ordinator
in the program which
will be run by State funds
dispensed by the Nassau County
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Commission. Burke said the
money, which will amount to
$64,700. has been allocated for the
program by the New York State
Narcotic Addiction Control
Commission and has already
been earmarked for Oyster Bay.
The Drug Abuse and Control
Agency (DACA) will operate
under the general administrative
control of the Department of
Recreation and Community
Activities and Mrs. Petito will be
charged with co-ordinating all
existing and future drug
programs into a comprehensive
plan for narcotic and drug abuse
control.
Burke said that he thought that
Mrs. Petito, "who has a rapport
with youngsters" would work
closely with the Oyster Bay
Youth Bureau and Youth Ad­visory
Board, both of which were
established by Burke last year.
The Supervisor said he felt it
Was the Town's responsibility to
conduct, assist and coordinate
programs in the prevention and
education of youthful drug of­fenders
on the local levels. He
said that DACA would enable the
Town to avoid duplication of
services and provide concerned
groups with leadership and
direction in meeting the needs of
youth in the area of drug abuse.
"We want to insure complete,
coordinated support for drug
abuse programs being offered
throughout the 110.8 square miles
of the Town," Burke said". "We
h«Jpe to enable small groups and
organizations to share in services
Which would otherwise prove too
expensive or difficult to provide
by themselves."
The Supervisor explained that
DACA could serve the com­munity
best by development of
drug programs for local youth
well as for her intimate
knowledge of the Town and
governmental framework in
which she will operate.
Mrs. Petito served as a
sounding board for her late
husband during six years as
Supervisor and the five-foot, one-inch,
105pound mother of four
daughters vividly recalls when
narcotics became* a point of
discussion in her home.
"It was about eightyears ago,"
she said. "I remember the day
Michael came home and told me
that suburbia was headed for
trouble—he wanted to do
5Orne0*tr«|then,
official ieveTi
.*/."": A>:<>' 4MB
•V' ' • • * * l * ''
SMI >' • I"
Nassau County Executive Ralph G. Caso and Mrs.
Edna Coughlin of Bethpage Senior Citizen Club dance
to music of Long Island Banjo Society at all-day outing
sponsored by the county's Off!
(OontiHu&ohPajget)
Hugh Coyle -- A Lifetime of Service
Mr. Hugh Coyle has received
an unusual number of awards in
recognition of his service to youth
during the twelve years he has
councils, providing a speaker's* been a member of the Bethpage
bureau; conducting adult Board of Education
education programs, coor­dinating
ongoing programs and
informational releases, con­tinuing
preventive education
programs in schools, providing
assistance to various "hotlines"
now in operation, offering
counseling and information or
referral services and by
adequately maintaining records
in accordance with guidelines
established by the Nassau County
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Commission.
Mrs. Petito was chosen, Burke
said, because of her background
sin the field of narcotics abuse as
Arbitration Clause Slows
Teacher Contract in IX
Unable to find a quorum in
agreement over a new teacher's
contract, the Island Trees School
Board was forced to cancel its
meeting Tuesday night, June 29.
In the discussion that took
place between three attending
trustees and the public, the main
concern was the Board's ap­parent
refusal to ratify the
contract, which has already been
accepted by the Island Trees
•Teacher's Association. Although
a total of four members failed to
attend, lame-duck President
Lawrence Berke blamed Mrs.
Florence Cullem for the failure to
attain a quorum.
At a meeting the week before,
Mrs. Cullem had expressed
opposition to a "maintenance of
standards" clause in the con­tract.
This item would, in effect,
freeze class sizes and teacher
work loads as a matter, of
contract, rather than as one of
Board policy, as is the present
case.
Mrs. Cullem also objected to
any attempt to "take away the
power of the Board" at that
meeting, and asked for time to
study the finalized contract,
which was presented to the Board
that afternoon.
On Tuesday. Mrs. Cullem
objected to another contract
provision, one that would man­date
compulsory arbitration of
grievances. She claimed this was
a case of the Board surrendering
its power.
Anthony Lancellotti-who also
did not attend the meeting
because of objections to the
contract-later noted that this
second clause was of doubtful
legality.
Although the three attending
members and Association
(Continued on Page 7)
This June the Student Body and
the Girls Leaders Club of Beth­page
High School presented
Coyle with plaques in ap­preciation
of his "many years of
outstanding service to the youth
of Bethpage." At its installation
meeting in May the Charles
Campagne School PTA
recognized Mr. Coyle's service to
Bethpage students and the
community with the Jenkins
Memorial Award, a Life Mem­bership
Pin in the Congress of
Parents and Teachers
Association.
The Bethpage Coaches
Association awarded him a
plaque acknowledging his "en­thusiasm
and endeavors to the
athletes and coaches of the Beth­page
Senior and Junior High
Schools Sports Programs." For
his "service to the youth of Beth­page"
the Girls Physical
Education Department of the
high school presented Coyle with
a golden eagle mounted on a
black marble block.
The Dads Club honored its
founder with a marble desk clock
and pen set, expressing it sincere
appreciation for his many years
of service to the youth and
community of Bethpage.
In 1968 he received a Cer­tificate
of Award for "out­standing
youth services" and in
1966 a certificate from the Jewish
War Veterans of the U.S. -
Nassau - Suffolk District Council
and Ladies Auxiliary - com­mended
his "distinguished
service, outstanding effort and
tireless devotion towards the
betterment of education of the
youth of the community."
A fe,w years earlier the Diocese
of Rockville Centre cited Mr.
Coyle for "loyal service, great
personal effort, and unfailing
cooperation in behalf of the 1963
Diocesan High School Building
Fund Campaign."
The Civil Service Employees
Association, Unit 21 of Bethpage
noted Coyle's work for the youth
of Bethpage in a Certificate of
Honor thanking him for his
"interest and endeavors for
scholarships, safety, and the
sportsmanship of our youth."
All these distinguished awards
will be carefully packed and
taken with the Coyles when their
planned move to Florida takes
place sometime around January
1972. The community will miss
them, for Coyle and his wife,
Ethel, are popular Bethpage
residents. They have seven
children, 36 grandchildren and
one great-grandchild.
Coyle organized the Bethpage
Dad's Club and the first Connie
Mack Baseball League in
Nassau. The League now has
over 40 different leagues and the
Dad's Club awards three
scholarships to Bethpage High
School students and sponsors the
athletic awards banquets for both
boys and girls.
Born and educated in New
York City, Coyle was associated
with Con-Edison for 38 years,
retiring in 1965 as foreman of its
large fuel generation plant in-.
Astoria. Early in his career he
became interested in the com­pany's
athletic activities for
young people as well as various
church youth.programs.
During World War II he served
with the U.S.O., entertaining men
in service hospitals. His work
earned him the President's
Service Award and that of the
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
Hugh Coyle